The man of the future : An investigation of the laws which determine happiness

Front matter

THE MAN OF THE FUTUEE.

THE

MAN OF THE FUTURE.

Preface

in my first trial came to my aid now, when I most sorely needed it. Bnt it was not a presmnptuous selfreliance. I prayed earnestly and daily for knowledge and true enlightenment, which, perhaps, has been vouchsafed. In the midst of my deep bewilderment, I was, at any rate, suddenly struck with the thought that, as there were principles of health Avhich, if cultivated, ensured health, in like manner there were principles of morals which, if cultivated, produced o'oodness and virtue. From that moment I beheld light.

How had I succeeded where medicine had failed ? By pursuing a method which existed before medicine was ever thouoht of. How, in like manner, did I solve doubts which the Church was unable to solve for me ? ^ By adopting rules of truth which existed ages before ^ Christianity, or any other form of religion, had appeared. I had simply in both cases put myself, so to speak, in harmony with the designs of the great Author of all — and I say this with all reverence, but with confidence. 1 have now for years ceased to live under the dominion of either power — Medicine or the Church, and am all the better for it. I have broken loose from a thraldom which binds every man who puts faith in dogmas, and I now experience real liberty and strength. I possess j a new life, and with it increased health, vigour, and vi PREFACE.

intelligence. l\ty way througli the world, wliicli was formerly full of doubt and darkness, is now plain and intelliirible. The so-called cares of life are no longer felt as a burden. They are easily and cheerfully borne. Work has become a pastime and a pleasure ; while affliction is met with meekness. I understand the present, and begin to comprehend the future. My health is sound and good. Calamities fall lightly upon me. I am not easily disappointed or terrified : and death, whenever it approaches, will, I hojje, be

. welcome.

AVhence is all this ? Simply from the fact that

while much formerly was artificial, now everything is natural. Formerly I followed the devices of men ; now I strive to obey the laws of the Maker of men. If you will do the same, I predict you will be happy. This " vale of tears " will no longer be the desert which some professors make it ; but rather will it be found a garden of flowers, through which you will recognise yoursehP as being led by the hand of the great Creator ; walking with Him in sj)irit, as from step to step you discern the development of His work.

Everything about us proclaims His laws. It is for us to learn to read and understand them. If we conform to these laws we become happy : if we oppose them, we render ourselves more or less miserable, ac-

PREFACE. vii

cording to the gi-eatcr or less extent in which we do them violence. Studying them, we are led into truthful and pleasant ways ; neglecting them, we are sure to fall into error and to injm'e ourselves.

The aim of this little work is to make mankind happier. It points out certain rules of a positive character; and Avhich I consider infallible, based as they are upon everlasting truth. I make no pretension to fine writing ; the means employed, the language used, shall be plain and homely, so as to be understood by all. My object is to communicate, in the plainest manner, ideas which in me have produced great good. I think them invaluable ; I am profoundly penetrated by them, and I submit them to others in all confidence.

We should endeavour to make our happiness rest on first principles ; rules which in all parts of the earth have their application and force — measures in wliich all nations and races agree as soon as they understand them. We should apply to the fountain head of all truth ; setting aside all those artificial laws which the ingenuity of man has substituted for its outpourings, wherever these devices are found, whether they are the utterance of prophets, of priests, or of teachers.

Are not these teachers, these doctors and priests, beginning to acknowledge this themselves ? Do not viii PREFACE.

the most intelligent and tlioiiglitful among tliem cease to put fiiith in drugs and in dogmas ? When our guides are at fault, and quarrelling amongst themselves, it is high time for us to see whither we are being led. It is high time for right-thinking men to band together, and dispassionately examine matters, as well for themselves, as for humanity in general.

The claim of churches, sects, and schools to supervise the elevation and well-being of mankind, however well founded on authority and tradition, and however well meant, is insufficient to meet the necessities and wants of the times. The most thoughtful minds of the period acknowledge this. The clergy are not ignorant of it. Christianity, as now taught, while it is losing power over the minds of the intellectual, also fails to reach the masses of the people. There is nothing surprising in all this : men are wiser than they were. Their judgment is better. They can discriminate between principles real and everlasting, and those which are false and transitory. I do not shrink at the thought of being accused of free-thinking on such great matters. I claim to follow the example of Jesus called the Christ, who, when he aj)peared amongst men, raised an outcry against the orthodox teachers amongst the Jews of his day. I affirm more — that some of the chief of my views have the support of the testimony of the real

PREFACE.

IX

Christ ; not the Christ as variously taught in Christen- i dom : not the Christ of the creeds, but the Christ of the Gospels. The beauty and sublimity of Christ's work and character should be understood in its simplicity, and not confounded with the superstition and mystery which surround it. The sermons of Christ are rich in profound philosophy. Unhappily his followers have engrafted on that philosophy, so full of i excellent truth, the most grotesque inventions of their own, with which the spirit of Christ could have hadJP no sympathy.

My design is, as I have said, to induce the reader to study to acquire happiness, by relying on our Maker's laws. I do not pretend to a perfect degree of knowledge of these laws — far from it ; but I believe I know enough of them to point out the true path to any honest wayfarer on the journey of life. No apology needs be offered for the attempt I make. The clergy admit that all their efforts do not reach the minds of the masses of the people ; and they make the most earnest appeals to laymen for help. The present is the only form in which I can aid them ; and in this effort I hope to obtain the sympathy of all the intelligent classes. It is almost needless to say that I sincerely believe in all that I here advance, based as it is upon my own personal experience.

X PREFACE.

With all deference to others, it appears to me that I may surely be permitted to interpret the designs of our Maker in such a manner as I think proper without being subject to odium. I am the responsible party in respect to my present and future welfare. The life I lead now and the existence I shall have hereafter, will depend entirely upon the use I make of the means I have of judging of our Maker's design, and of doing His will. No other person in the world can answer, or stand surety for me, in the great liabiHty I incur as a rational being towards my Maker. On me he has bestowed independent powers of observation. What if I see my way plain to effect my perfectibility, in a way different to anything which I have read in books, must I surrender my judgment and make myself a slave to the judgment and opinions of others ? Are their eyes and minds to do service for me ? If navigators trusted entirely to the charts which were made hundreds of years ago, there would be shipA\T?ecks without number. In like manner it is idle to rest Avholly on the experience of past men, no matter how able and gifted they were.

And if it seems to me that I have discovered a better, surer, safer road to travel on than any I knew l)efore ; if the experience of years assures me that I am not trusting to a delusion, but to what is real and

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substantial ; if I have tlie power of looking back upon myself and examining wlictlier physically, mentally, and morally I have degenerated or improved ; and if I arise from this examination in the fullest confidence that I have gained immensely in all these respects, why should I be deterred from communicating the knowledoe I have oained to others ? Am I not rather

o o

bound to do so ?

It is, I confess, unsatisfactory, dangerous, and even cruel, to discuss, in an ofi'-hand manner, subjects bearing on religion. You strike perchance at an item of belief which is the whole foundation of someone's faith. You perhaps succeed in demolishing it, just as an iconoclast may destroy at a blow the figure of a saint lono; venerated and trusted : and what is left to the poor devotee ? The shrine he worshipped at is a blank : the source whence he once drew comfort, such as it was, is dried up, and perhaps nothing comes to supply its place. AVere it not, therefore, that I have had most remarkable personal experience, I should not venture to attack the systems now in force. But when I see so much misery in the world under different forms ; when I encounter so many shipwrecks of the brightest hopes, I can no longer keep silence.

It is possible that by some these pages will be said xii PREFACE.

to tcacli uthei.siii. To these I reply: Arc you real lovers of our iMaker and of His truth 1 If so, you will rejoice to hear that I wish to intensify your love, and t(. deepen your knowledge of truth, by removing the mists which surround and separate Him from you.

CHAPTER VIII.

Prospect and Eetrospect 271

PAET I.

ANALYTIC,

THE MAN OF THE FUTURE.

Chapter I. The Goal Of Life

fl^ The happiness of mankind is a subject wliicli occupies the serious attention of many. The good in aU nations try to effect the welfare of their feUowcreatures. Statesmen, politicians, churches, societies of various denominations, all make laudable efforts to improve and benefit the human race, but happiness, in a general sense, seems as distant as ever. May not this be owing to false methods in our pursuit of the really good and true ? Is it not possible that instead of adopting that simplicity which the great Author of aU things intended us to follow, we have relied too much on artificial methods which have little affinity to His wdU ? We requke some more sure way before us — some firmer ground to stand upon. I have long been profoundly penetrated with these ^icts, and shall endeavour, in the course of this work, to state my views on tins very important subject as briefly as I am able, classifying the pursuit of happiness under the two follo\ving heads : —

I. Health of the body.

II. Health of the mind.

If we possess these two essentials, all other things A will be found comparatively unimportant. If we are without bodily and mental well-being, we cannot be^ said to have secured real solid happiness.

It is not to be doubted that a being so perfect as our Maker, has formed a design of His own in respect to us. He must have made rules for the well-being of mankind as well as for that of all His other creatures. It is all-important, then, for us to ascertain what these rules are : to study them when discovered, and to carry them out in their purity. The only way in which a Being eminently spiritual can communicate with creatures like ourselves, is spiritually. He reveals His will to us through our reason. To neglect to understand His will is to fail in the first of duties, and carries with it heavy penalties ; while to understand and follow it bears a multitude of benefits — a fact which requires very little proof beyond the experience of every person of observation.

Human happiness being the goal of life, it can only 'be revealed by a knowledge of the road. The way to the end must be understood before that end can be reached. There is something to be learned and studied — something to be done; an art which has rules. Putting these rules into operation, we obtain the desired effect.

Let us examine the object of our solicitude. Man is of a mixed nature ; body, mind, and spirit, each of them properly developed, complete his happiness. The bodily nature of man is like that of the brutes around us. His mental and spiritual nature is like that of his Maker, invisible but still real.

There is a way of securing bodily health, and there is a way of securing mental and spiritual health. It is an error to suppose that our Maker prefers to give each or both to one person any more than to another. He takes an equal interest in all the children of men.

Whosoever follows His rules obtrins the benefits attached to them. Action and obedience the Maker delights in, therefore he has appointed for us a life of obedience to Him— a life of acti^dty in His service. A clear perception of our duty is the first step necessary to right action. Unless our idea of duty is clear, our mode of procedure will be vague and confused.

B 2

If we have doubts we shall be apt to stand still on the road, or at least, to make poor progress on our journey.

An enquii'ing mind is, therefore, essential to our welfare and happiness. Unfortunately, the Church quenches inquiry, and requires the substitution of faith in matters all-important to human welfare. It demands of us faith in things impossible to comprehend, and consequently reduces the strength of our minds.

The only faith we should be called upon to have is faith in the efficacy of our Maker's laws.

Every idea we receive into our minds either does us good or injury, according to the quality of the idea. Ideas are the food of the mind, and may, like the food of the body, be unfit for digestion. Christianity possesses many excellent ideas, and hence the esteem in Avhich that creed has been held. The good it is capable of performing, and does actually perform, acqunes for it a larger credit than it is entitled to. It makes people accept its shortcomings of doctrine — its miracles and its mysteries, because of certain unmistakeable good it works. The defects of Christianity are seen in the narrowness and prejudice of its followers, who are frequently unfit to discharge the commonest duties of life.

Perfection cannot be reached without the aid of the best minds on behalf of humanity. Unfortunately, most minds are, in early life, bound in fetters. They have, at the outset, been burdened with ideas which for ever after exercise an injurious effect upon them. They have been made to run in false grooves, and, consequently, they fail to effect any real progress. To accept such ideas as miracles, baptismal regeneration, &c., is to divert our minds from the right paths of improvement, and to lead us into mischief and danger. The minds which have resigned themselves to such behefs, have surrendered much of their capacity of observation. They have sacrificed their power of criticism by subscribing to what is incomprehensible and contradictory. They have smothered their faculty of discriminating truth from error. That every mind ought to be stimulated to examine into every idea placed before it, is a self-e^ddent truth. That the acceptance of erroneous ideas is accompanied with the greatest risk to the receiver is equally patent. Every idea received into the mind, and taking root there, has ramifications whose direction and importance it is not easy to circumscribe ; they pervade our whole existence, and according to the idea so is the fruit. If the idea is inaccurate the mind is wholly misled through such inaccuracy.

Look, for instance, at the humiliating pictureexhibited by humanity in the exaltation of a successful conqueror — one who has caused the death of thousands in some battle, of which individual glory, or avarice, or ambition, or some other equally worthless object was the cause. What an effect has a mistaken idea wrought here !

Look again at the idea of the damnation by an all-just Being of the millions who have heard, and of others who have never heard of Christ, inclusive of little innocent children ; all for an alleged offence of disobedience in the first man by tasting of some fruit !

Or consider the doctrine of the real presence by which the very body of Christ, flesh and blood, is alleged to be found in the tangible, visible bread and wine on the communion table !

Can any one assert, after viewing the humiliating results to which the unquestioned reception of ideas^ has led in the above instances, that to compel the mind to receive ideas which cannot be understood in a natural sense, is pernicious ? The common sense of individuals is overthrown when they are requned to give credence to supernatural phenomena, as miracles, and such like. Their individuality is gone. They have given up their reasoning power, and follow the low animal instinct of credulity.

THE GOAL OF LIFE.

The force of any truth is diminished when it is coupled with a statement which it requires credulity to accept. The belief in miracles, for instance, demands of us an act of violence to our very natures, and consequently those required to accept it often imbibe a repulsion to all religion. The excellent instruction of Jesus Christ would, if unaccompanied by statements of miracles, have inevitably taken hold upon our understandings, but is now frequently lost to us. If the sayings which he uttered are fundamental truths, and there can be no question that many of them are, they had far better be held up to us in all their own simplicity; then their intrinsic worth and power will telt upon us. The miraculous powers attributed to the speaker do not make the truths which he uttered one whit more forcible. On the contrary, we are apt to doubt the honesty of a teaching which needs a subversion of the order of nature to back

it up.

As the strength of a chain is no greater than that possessed by the weakest link, so the confidence put in any testimony amounts to little when we perceive that legends and fairy tales are mixed up with it. The benefit which obviously sound instruction is calculated to produce on minds is choked by legendary matter.

tlioiigli tlic latter may, from its poetical nature, fascinate and please.

To return to our starting-point, however — happiness is the end, the goal of our earthly pilgrimage ; and this goal may be reached by our own proper efforts. The culture of simple principles is all that is necessary for the purpose ; and as physical health is obtained by following certain rules of bodily action, so health of mind is got by the practical cultivation of certain moral quahties, e. g., Temperance, Peace, Love, Benevolence, Charity, Industry, Honesty, Sincerity, Patience, Moderation, Truth, Justice, Humility, Chastity. Wherever these qualities abound there is the atmosphere of happiness ; and why ? because, as experience shows us, these are the qualities that form and build up our spiritual nature. Without these qualities we are less than man : by possessing them we are distinguished from brutes. If there were no existence hereafter; if there were no spiritual life ; if all were over as soon as this earthly career ended ; the cultivation of these qualities might be less important : but reason tells us that it is not so. In nature we see that nothing is lost : in physical life matter changes from one shape to another ; so must it be with regard to our spirits. The spiritual life now in this body will continue to live on in another sphere. Such being the case, it is the greatest folly not to provide for its well-being and happiness in that future existence ; the more so, as the means of doing this are interwoven with those of advancing our happiness in the present.

We have a twofold work on earth to accomplish. The body has a work, and the soul has a work ; and according as the functions of each has been employed, so is the measure of satisfaction. The work of the soul deserves, by its nature, to be first considered. It is to imitate the Creator. Unless the soul does this, so far as it is able, it cannot enjoy that tranquillity, that happiness which should belong to it. We know from experience what enjoyment is derived from repose after a fatiguing journey. This is a physical enjoyment. In like manner there is a repose which is derived by the soul each day from its contemplation of work done in harmony with the Divine rules. If any of these rules have been broken or neglected, there results a proportionate amount of discomfort. But the work of the body is no less essential to secure perfect happiness. The body must seek means to obtain the necessary food and clothing for its sustenance, while the soul must seek the nourishment necessary for its sustentation. The body should be employed in some of the many ways of labour or incIiTstry : tlic soul in the use and cultivation of the mental faculties.

Self-preservation is a great fundamental fact, — a root from which springs the whole of our duty. It embraces, primarily, the well-being of the body ; secondarily, that of the mind or spirit. And this great law which enforces our duty to ourselves, clearly enjoins the same duty in respect to others. As we must protect ourselves as members of the great human family, in like manner as each human creature is equally with ourselves the object of our Maker's care, so we are bound to preserve a due respect and care for others with whom we may come into intercourse.

Knowledge of the means to secure happiness involves two other kinds of knowledge : the one a knowledge of the ways of our Maker, the other a knowledge of the ways of man. The first is potent, durable, everlasting in its character, being based on eternal rules. It has a force throughout the universe, and is, when understood, accepted by all mankind of whatever clime, race, or colour, competent to judge of that which is right when it is presented to them. It delineates the government of the spiritual over the material objects of the universe. The second consists of experience of the ways of men, and portrays the government of the material over spiritual things. The design of our Maker has for its basis the happiness of all His creatures : the design of man has for its basis the well-being of a few individuals. Our Maker's plan for our general well-being is exceedingly simple : the plan of our great men and riders for the Avellbeing of the few involves the subjection of the many, and is extremely complicated. The ambition of men in all countries has made itself so conspicuous that the misery of the many has risen to the surface of society. It no longer haunts the corners of the earth. It covers the land in a variety of forms.

Our physicians are continually engaged on diseases, while our Churches are equally occupied on the cure of our sins. Thousands of years pass by with little if any alleviation of our condition. There would appear to be a failure of the Divine prescience if this state were to be accepted as permanent. But it cannot be. That splendid piece of mechanism, the human frame, is so evidently the work of a Maker supremely wise and perfect, that it is impossible for Him to err or be mistaken in anything He has designed. The fault is ours ; we do not follow out His design.

The knowledge proper to the attainment of happiness must, from the nature of its purpose, be the most simple to comprehend, inasmuch as it is intended for universal use. Unfortunately for humanity, our instructors in years gone by plucked up by the roots tbis species of knowledge. They denounced it as a poisonous thing. The Church for many centuries held a monopoly of knowledge. It dealt out such instruction as it pleased, and declared " hitherto shalt thou come and no further." It held the nations of the earth firmly in the net of ignorance, while it destroyed all who dared to produce knowledge differing from its own. The Divine intelligence had provided a way plain and simple, in which all may journey with ease, security, and satisfaction. But owing to the devices of men, the fundamental landmarks were obliterated, and travellers thereby rendered for the most part errinof, disheartened, disconsolate creatures.

The Sovereign, who spiritually is related to us, and ought to rule over us, is carefully kept in the background, while others are set up in His place. He who made us is not suffered to rule over us. The human authorities who govern us make laws of their own, without apparently caring to ascertain how little or how much they coincide w^ith the design of the Maker of all things. But unless their laws are in harmony Avith His will, the experience of numberless ages has shown that nations governed by them inevitably perish. Among various instances of this truth, it is sufficient to mention the Egyptian, the Assyrian, the

THE GOAL OF LIFE. i:i

Babylonian, the Roman, and tlie Mexican dynasties. The fall of these nations chiefly resulted from the fact that the laws which guided them were calculated rather to develop the animal than the moral part of nature : for as all animal life ends in dissolution, so the existence of nations based on such laws must come soon or late to an end. It would be far difi*erent if the spiritual part of human nature took precedence in systems of government over its animal portion. Having our Maker as the Chief Spirit in our Supreme Head, whose will alone we should follow, we should take up the place which rightly belongs to us in creation as moral agents. With a nature marvellously diff'erent from that of brutes we should better understand the object of our Maker if we cultivated aright the spiritual connection which exists between us. Granting to the body the proportion of care and attention which is its due, and which we are bound to bestow, we should seek to develop the higher nature and properties of the soul or spirit within us. The powers of that spirit thus divested of all undue pressure would speedily become manifest. With the Chief Spirit as our Leader and Guide, a vast field of discovery in all that is good and great would be opened to us. Humanity would speedily reach a stage of existence brighter and more glorious than any it has yet contemplated. Pauperism, misery, disease, crime, wars, would be unknown, except in rude and barbarous parts of the earth. Our knowledge would abundantly increase. All physical nature would be laid open to us. "We should rightly understand all the pm^poses and plans of our Maker in respect to us. We should with the whole thoughts of our mind be devoted to follow His will. "We should continually rejoice in our work, well knowing that its consummation would be achieved in His great and glorious presence.

There is a way of securing bodily health, and there is a way of securing spiritual health. It is an error to suppose that our Maker, out of caprice, prefers to give each or both to any one more than to another. He takes the same interest in all the children of men, preferring no one above another. But as a matter of course, whoever follows the rules He has made, that person gets the full benefit of such obedience, while whoever neglects to follow the rules fails to obtain them. These rules are so positive that no one who really follows them out strictly need ever fail in health or morality. There is a compact between our Maker and mankind to this effect, — that if we observe His laws we are sure to maintain ourselves in health and morals. This is to my mind so plain that I believe the time is not far distant when it will be nearly as much blameworthy to fall into sickness prematurely as it is to be found drunk, or as it is to commit crime. By some fault of our own, some carelessness, some neglect or extravagance, some departure from His rules, either known or unknown, we are brought into what we wish to avoid, namely, ill-health or crime.

Our Maker has bestowed upon all, without distinction, a light to guide them in the search of happiness. He has placed a power in each and all, even the power of observation, which, unless it be debased, obscured, and destroyed, is an instrument sufficient to guide us in the avoidance of evil and in the selection and pursuit of that which is good. Our eyes and our mind are given us to observe and to reflect upon the things which make or mar our well-being.